"Commander Xie, on behalf of all the workers in the arsenal, thank you, Commander......," Xiao Wenchang said with an excited face. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Yang Xingguo shook his head and replied: "The arsenal has created more and better weapons for the army, which is the best reward for me. Okay, 10,000 taels of silver, I'll have someone deliver it in the afternoon. As for the technician you play, it will be solved for you within a month. ”

After returning to the headquarters, Yang Xingguo didn't have time to rest, so he called Huang Xing, who was most familiar with the Hanyang Iron Works, to the office.

As soon as Yang Xingguo's words came out, Huang Xing replied thoughtfully: "Commander, you have to say Hubei Gun Factory and Hubei Iron Factory......

"These two factories were set up by Zhang Zhidong after Zhang Zhidong became the governor of the two lakes, and they spent a huge amount of money to buy equipment from abroad, and they can be said to be the largest arsenal and ironmaking plant in the country."

Yang Xingguo nodded and asked, "Then what is the situation of these two factories......

"It's poor, and it's not enough to make ends meet. The most important thing is that the quality of the things that come out of these two factories is very poor. ”

"Especially in the ironworks, the steel smelted is basically not suitable for military ......use because the quality is not up to par."

"As for the gun factory, because the raw materials for making guns and guns have to be purchased from abroad, the cost of producing a gun is higher than that of direct purchase and transformation, and the entire gun factory is almost in a state of semi-shutdown......"

Speaking of this, Huang Xing, who already had a certain understanding of Yang Xingguo, asked thoughtfully: "Commander, do you have the idea of fighting the Hubei Gun Factory and Hubei Iron Factory again......

Seeing that Yang Xingguo didn't speak, Huang Xing, who directly thought that silence was certain, hurriedly reminded.

"Commander, you still give up this idea, the current situation of these two big factories is indeed not very good, but they were all formed by Zhang Zhidong, and there is also a decree of the imperial court. No matter what the situation, Zhang Zhidong will not move these two factories. “

"Also, these two factories together have tens of thousands of workers, and if you get these two factories out of the gates, then these tens of thousands of workers will have no food to eat and there will be turmoil. No matter how stupid Zhang Zhidong is, it is impossible for tens of thousands of workers to riot......"

"So. Commander, you're still dead to this heart! “

Yang Xingguo shook his head and replied: "The equipment of the gun factory and the iron factory are all old goods purchased from abroad more than ten years ago, and they have been used for so long, I can't look at them!" ”

"What do you want, Commander?" Huang Xing subconsciously asked.

Yang Xingguo did not hide it. He replied directly: "People, I want experienced mechanics in the gun factory and the iron factory, the more the better." As for how much it costs, I don't care ......"

Huang Xing thought for a while and replied: "As long as people are the words, they will definitely succeed......

"Because both factories are struggling to make ends meet. Many of the mechanics were idle, and the governor's palace was required to support them with money every month. As long as the equipment of these two factories is not touched, the Governor of the Two Lakes will certainly welcome us to help them share the wages of some of the craftsmen. ”

Hearing this, Yang Xingguo immediately decided: "In this case, I would like to ask Director Huang to personally go to Hubei ......"

"Go directly to Zhang Zhidong, the governor of the two lakes, and tell him that we will exchange weapons with him for mechanics. In the two factories, as long as there are experienced and capable technicians, we want them. If you are willing to come to Liaodong, you can bring your family with you. I will give them fifty taels of silver for settling-in allowance, and I will give them twice the amount of silver they have now......"

"Director Huang, you have studied and opened a factory, so you know which technicians are really capable and which ones are not. So, at this point, you must take care of it, and you would rather lack it than overuse it......"

"Of course, if there are many people who are willing to come, and they all have the ability...... As much as I Yang Xingguo wants. ”

Seeing Huang Xing's serious face, he nodded. Yang Xingguo continued.

"Of course, going to these two factories to exchange weapons for mechanics is only the first task of your trip to Hubei......"

"We all know that after Zhang Zhidong became the governor of the two lakes. In the territory of the two lakes, the movement of Western studies and Westernization was vigorously promoted. If it weren't for Zhang Zhidong's initiatives, Hubei would not have built so many factories and become so prosperous in just a few years. ”

"Our current Liaodong, after the baptism of war, can be described as poor and white, with nothing."

"The Liaodong Army wants to develop and grow. Then you have to have silver. And only when the local area is well developed and prosperous, will we have sufficient tax revenue, and we will have the money to support the army. ”

"And I want to ask for this situation of poverty and whiteness, there is only one way, that is, to learn from the experience of the two lakes, promote Western learning, promote foreign affairs, establish factories, and make the local prosperity and strength."

"No matter what you do, starting is the hardest place. For our poor and white Liaodong Army, this starting point is even more difficult to ......"

"If you want to make the Liaodong Army more prosperous, two key factors are indispensable. A thing is silver, that is, money. The other is talent, with talent, they can make money make money. “

"Therefore, the second task of your trip to Hubei is to recruit talents, especially those who study Western studies and understand Western studies, as many as they want, as long as they are willing to come......"

Huang Xing said with a serious face: "Commander, you are right, if a place wants to develop and grow, talent is very important......

"However, those so-called talents cultivated by the imperial court basically don't know anything else except for them. Only those who have studied Western studies are the real people......"

"I've been in Hubei for several years, so I'm very familiar with the situation there......"

"With the support of Zhang Zhidong, the atmosphere of learning Western studies in the whole Hubei is very good, unlike in the north, when everyone talks about Western studies, there is a feeling of talking about tiger color."

Seeing Yang Xingguo nodding with an approving face, Huang Xing's tone suddenly changed, and he continued: "But, Commander, even if Hubei has a good atmosphere of learning Western studies, there are not many real Western scholars. It is impossible to recruit enough Western scholars, at least in a short period of time. So, even if I went to Hubei and mobilized all my connections, I wouldn't be able to recruit many people back. ”

"This is indeed a question......" Yang Xingguo replied with a frown after thinking about it.

At this moment, a string of very familiar words suddenly appeared in Yang Xingguo's mind.

What kind of labor export, what kind of talent introduction......

In later generations, in order to introduce talents, introduce labor, or export labor, many places set up a company and introduced talents in various places.

Hereafter can do this, and you can do it yourself.

Thinking of this, Yang Xingguo immediately proposed: "If we can't do it in a short time, then we will do it for a long time......"

"We can open a company in Wuhan, which has the most talents in Hubei, not only to recruit a steady stream of talents for us, but also to sell some things unique to our Liaodong Army to make profits......

"My idea is that this company is called Liaodong Foreign Trade Company......"

Huang Xing's eyes lit up, and he immediately agreed: "Commander, this can be ......"

"Selling weapons externally and importing talents internally is indeed a good way to kill multiple birds with one stone......

"Then it's decided......" Yang Xingguo replied with an affirmative face.

"Now that we have limited strength, let's open a company in Hankou first. When we have the strength, each province will open a branch. In this way, the large amount of weapons and ammunition that our Liaodong Army holds in its hands will no longer have to worry about selling. ”

"Director Huang, this matter will also be handled by you. After arriving in Hubei, we found Zhang Zhidong and asked Zhang Zhidong to approve us to open a company. At the same time, give Zhang Zhidong a promise, no matter what the foreign trade company sells after we are established? The price for him will be reduced by 20%. ”

"I believe that under the temptation of interests, Zhang Zhidong will definitely agree. After all, there are already many foreign trade companies in Hankou, and we are not one of them. (To be continued.) )